Thursday, April 15, 2010

I Love Gardein!

I'm pretty cheap. Granted, I don't make that much working in the newspaper business, but I'm fairly certain I'd still be a frugalista if I had a million bucks. When I do splurge, it's generally on fancy vegan food items. I rarely buy clothes, shoes, or other necessities. Sometimes, I'm even too cheap to shell out a few extra bucks on faux meat like Gardein.

But after all the hype over Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook (a book I still don't have because I've been too cheap to buy it!) and his Gardein faux meat products, I finally broke down and spent the $4 on one package of Gardein Thai Trio.

The Thai Trio is a one-serving, chick'n breast stuffed with tomatoes, red peppers, and bamboo shoots. It comes with a creamy, coconut-spiced red Thai curry sauce and a generous portion of tender basmati rice. I was a little shocked at the tiny size of the chick'n breast. It's smaller than the palm of my hand, and I have small hands. But the texture was spot on. I suspect it's close enough to the texture of a real chicken breast to please an omni, but not close enough to be creepy.

I served my Thai Trio with steamed beets and spinach, which I doused liberally with Asian chili-garlic sauce after I snapped this picture. A quick, delicious week night meal. I've been a little pressed for time this week, which means less time for messin' around in the kitchen. Thankfully, the Gardein meal was ready in minutes. Definitely worth the $4. I think I'll stop being so cheap and start keeping this stuff on hand.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to come back on Sunday night for a super-awesome, surprise giveaway!

YUM! I've been wishing I could try that Gardein chicken for ages, it looks so chewy and authentic and GOOD. Of course, it will be another 3 decades or so before they start carrying it in stores here. I will have to live vicariously through your delicious meals!

Looks yum! Heh it'll be a while before we get it here in Ireland too! Although I had fake meat for the first time in months yesterday and it was so realistically like an under-cooked chicken nugget I felt sick D:

I haven't had Gardein in awhile, but I picked some up after I saw it on a vegan cooking segment on The Ellen Show. It is really good and I didn't used to like faux meats. Great, now I want to go get some. :D

I'm a bit tight with my money too, and have recently fallen in love with the gardein chick'n scallopini. I've tried the spicy buffalo wings in the past and really didn't like the sauce, but I love the texture of them.

I love Gardein! I was so lucky because my local grocery had them at buy one get one free. My freezer is now overflowing after I cleaned them out. I didn't see the Thai one though. I have to look for that one.

That's too funny...I used to have a friend named Big Amy, too! How weird. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. In retrospect, it's one of my favorite life experiences to this day. I definitely had my share of good trips (and video game care rides) as well :)

You really know how to jazz up the Thai Trio...you make it look great! I bought it, then just microwaved the "chicken" over the rice. I guess I'm a lazy chef once in a while haha.

I am the exact same way--totally frugal (okay, okay...cheap, lol!) and I cannot even fathom paying so much for a fancy fake meat product, lol! Even after your review...although I will keep my eyes peeled for coupons now for sure. I think with a coupon I could be persuaded to purchase some of the Gardein products, which I have been curious about :-) And I know what you mean, even if I were wealthy (in my dreams!), I think I would still be frugal...shrug.

I can't get Gardein here in Australia but I've got to admit, Tal Ronnen's cookbook is totally worth it. Like you, I rarely buy what other peope consider "necessities", instead spending my money on food and cookbooks!

I've made the cream of asparagus soup so far which was pretty good... This week I'm trying out the tempeh creole and lemongrass consommé with mushroom/chive dumplings... And I totally have my heart set on the pannacotta!

I just tried the Thai one and loved it - it was a little weird looking but tasty!

They carry several of the Gardein meals at the Kroger on Poplar at Kirby - hopefully they will carry them closer to home like the one at Mendenhall once they get it all new and renovated! WFs did not have as many varieties as Kroger and it was a little cheaper at Kroger.

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm a 9-year vegan, 19-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.